American Traveler

The king-size room at the Saratoga Springs Holiday Inn is surprisingly nice. Big room, comfy bed, friendly service, various perks and upgrades for club members. All-in-all better than the Inn at Saratoga across the street where we had stayed in November. Did not, unfortunately, make it to uncommon ground for the bacon egg and cheese on a jalapeno bagel. Settled for room service continental breakfast (toast and melon balls)—-saving appetite for brunch an Mannas in Ballston Spa. Standard steam table fare, but with a nice omelet bar and good potatoes. All for $15. The culinary highlight, though, was, once again, Hatties Chicken Shack on Phila St. in Saratoga. Best fried chicken around. And we learned this time, mighty good wings too. Had a chat with the chef and owner who didn’t deny that they might be considering opening up a branch in NYC! That would be good news for the Big Apple. Could picture them doing very well in the Village or LES. Continue Reading »

Even though the Majestic somehow seemed to improve over the weekend, and actually looked better in daylight, the experience made me think twice about Paris. Don’t want to get stuck in a dump there. And when Lauren heard some horror stories about La Louisiane, I decided to start looking elsewhere. Lauren was still lobbying for the Hotel Mansart, but I held out and eventually found a great deal at the stylish Radisson Blu Le Dokhan. It looks fantastic! We’ll let you know.